This invention relates generally to automobile door hinges and, more particularly, to a three piece lift-off door hinge mounting arrangement allowing a door to be readily removed in a lift-off manner from a vehicle body during an assembly line operation, for example.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,895 issued Jan. 26, 1988 to R. H. Peebles discloses a quick-disconnect three piece vehicle door hinge that enables the doors to be quickly removed and rehung during the assembly line advancement of the vehicle body. This allows the interior of the removed doors to be readily equipped and trimmed while supported on a suitable assembly fixture.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,765,025 issued Aug. 23, 1988 to Salazar discloses a vehicle door mounting arrangement for effecting vertical removal of the door. The Salazar system includes an improved lift-off door hinge together with a conventional door hinge having an integral check disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,532,675 issued Aug. 6, 1985 to Salazar. The Salazar '675 patented hinge is adapted to cooperate with the modified lift-off door hinge of the Salazar '025 patent permitting assembly and removal of the door during movement of the vehicle body along a modern automotive assembly line.